We don't have forever, we have now
by threewishes6716
Summary: Sasha Belov/OC Rating is for later chapters. Emily Bunting quit for a reason, but now she's back in Boulder and Sasha just won't let her get away with throwing it all away.
1. Chapter 1

The key still fits. Not that I had any real doubt it would. Marty always told me it was okay to work here after hours. I poke my head inside the door to The Rock and examined the room. The place still smelled of sweat and chalk.

I was no gymnast, not by a long shot, but Marty was usually around to watch out for me on the equipment. And I had made it to level five before I officially quit. He liked to use the word quit for what I did, I stick with moved on; I moved onto ballet. And then it was tap. And then ballet. And on and on and on in a monotonous battle.

I set my bag down next to the beam and unzipped my jacket. I couldn't find any of my old leos when I moved back in that day so I stuck to a sports bra and shorts. Stretching was the first and worst part. I had gotten very, very lazy in a short period of time.

My ballet shoes were lying at the top of my bag when I started to rifle through it looking for my phone. I shoved them under a spare tank top and kept going.

Music filled my ears quickly and my body ached to do something. I did a backbend walkover, feeling my muscles trying to adjust to the movements. After a few heel extensions and spins I tried to think of a combination that wouldn't push my limits too much. I moved the mats in place.

Keep it simple, I begged myself. I didn't always know how to not overdo it. I didn't know how to be okay anything I did. I landed a round off back handspring, back tuck on my butt. I jumped up, ready to do it again, but nearly had a heart attack instead as I saw someone in my peripheral vision.

I ripped the ear buds from my ears and opened my mouth.

"Don't," the man said. His arms were crossed and the expression on his face was one I had seen many times before. "Who are you and what the hell are you doing in my gym?"

I started to open my mouth again, but felt my body stop out of fear. What was I afraid of?

"Your gym? This is Marty's gym."

The blonde, and apparently British man, leaned his head back and gave me a new look. This one was comparable to a bully sizing up small kids on a playground, picking which is the weakest link.

"It's my gym. I am Sasha Belov, and if I'm not mistaken, you still haven't told me who you are."

I wiped a small bead of sweat off the back of my neck. I straightened my back and folded my arms in an attempt to stay strong.

"I'm Emily Bunting, Olivia's sister. I used to go to this gym and after I left Marty let me come here after hours every now and then."

Seconds ticked by. I wasn't sure what to do. Hell, I wasn't sure I was even breathing at that point.

"I'm just going to go then," I said looking at the floor and shuffling towards the beam again.

"No, no, no. If you want to stay and work out then stay," his reply caught me off guard. There was something to his voice that screamed arrogance and sarcasm, and I had no idea how to react.

"I'm pretty good actually. I'll just head back home," I picked up my jacket and bag.

Sasha turned his whole body towards where I stood, waiting to escape.

"I said, stay. If a work out is what you want then a work out is what you're about to get. Sprints, now."

I smiled awkwardly, surely he was kidding.

"Do I look amused?" he questioned, surely to my smirk and leaned against the bars. "I've got all night. Now, am I going to have to say it again?"

I shook my head quickly. "No sir." No sir? Where the hell did that come from?

I was into my sixth set of sprints when I realized I didn't understand what was going on. I had no obligation to this man and yet somehow he scared the living shit out of me. Each time I doubled back his eyes caught mine and I thought he was going to murder me.

"Stop," he called after my tenth set.

My heart was pounding in my ears. Maybe they were right for kicking me out, I thought, I was entirely too exhausted.

"Chin ups on the bars, now."

I walked without question. Punishment for breaking in (with a key), that's what this, was. I pulled my weight a few times before Sasha moved to stand in front of me.

"Where were you?" he asked flatly.

I grunted in an effort not to answer but he just stood with his hands in his leather jacket staring at me.

"Arizona Performing Arts Academy." He could use his scary, attractive British man ways to get me to talk, but no more than necessary.

"For what exactly?"

Something about his condescending tone made me bite my lip to hold back any comebacks I had.

"Dance."

Sasha strutted to the far wall and I took a moment to slow down. Without looking back he called my name along with something about doing double if I was slowing down. I struggled to pick my pace back up. My blood was pumping in my veins for more than one reason. He was so hot—actor hot.

He rolled an exercise ball to the floor and motioned for me to join him. I don't know if you've ever had to do intense exercise a few hours after you've gotten off of a plane, but trust me, that ball looked like the devil to me.

I began my sit-ups as he shot out loads of questions, ending with the most important; why was I back.

"Truth?" I asked, sitting up, hands on my knees.

Sasha turned his head to the side. "Did I say stop?"

I groaned as I lay back. "I was kicked out. I was on scholarship and I slacked off. I lost the passion. I lost the love. I didn't know why I was doing it so I just stopped."

He checked his watch and gazed intently at me for about twenty more sit ups before stopping me.

"Go home."

And that was that. It was clear from his tone to his body language that questions were the last thing he wanted. My stomach muscles ached with every step I took. I wiped sweat from my forehead as I stared at his icy stare for a few more seconds.

I rolled in the driveway at nearly one am to find the house sound asleep. I'm sure my parents assumed I had come in already if they'd even noticed I left. I let the hot water hit my back as I ached from the workout. I only had one question: why?


	2. Chapter 2

I dreamed of him that night. It was weird and unexplainable. The chilly stare he gave me sent a shock down my spine.

I awoke to a busy house. A little less than five hours of sleep was not enough. More than a little cranky, I entered the kitchen. I poured a cup of coffee and examined my options for food. My mom ran in, nearly spilling the very hot coffee down my shirt.

"Oh honey I'm sorry. I'm late and I know you don't want to be up but we haven't discussed your situation. And that will need to wait for a few hours. I need you to take Olivia to the gym." She was out the door before I could argue.

I slipped on blue track pants, a white tank, and a matching blue hoodie before I ran back to the kitchen for a banana and yogurt. Liv slid onto a bar stool looking exhausted.

"Too early to be wearing a leo, you're crazy," I mumbled through bites.

It was 6:15 and she didn't need to be there till seven. I leaned on the bar and looked across at my blonde, tiny sister. We looked nothing alike, and somehow people just knew we were sisters. I was always hovering protectively I suppose.

"So I met your coach last night," I said casually.

"And how exactly did you manage that one?" Olivia asked as she picked through a medley of fruits.

I launched into the story and by the time I was done, my baby sister was laughing so hard she was crying.

"Well that's Sasha," she began, "he's one big power trip."

I grabbed the keys as she grabbed her gym bag. I agreed to drive her and her friends to a movie if she mentioned to mom that I was very responsible that morning and left early to get her to The Rock.

I half expected to see the gym in full swing when we arrived, but people were walking in slow motion. I shot a glance around, trying to recognize faces of girls who had long since passed me in training. Sasha emerged from the office, catching my eye before I could turn and make a break for it. He raised one hand to beckon me up.

Payson and Becca's mom, Mrs. Keeler, greeted me warmly inside the office. She began firing off questions and then answering herself before I could even open my mouth.

"Excuse me, Kim, I need to speak with this young lady for a moment alone," Sasha's voice sounded bitter.

"What did you do?" she mouthed to me, sliding the door behind her.

I placed my key on the desk calendar in front of him and then raised my hands in defense. "I promise it will never happen again."

Instead of the anger I had seen before, he just looked confused. "Well, certainly not without supervision. And I spoke with your mother a few days ago. We have a lot of late nights and early mornings ahead of ourselves to get you back in shape. Speaking of which, why aren't you changed yet?"

Then it was my turn to be confused. I folded my arms tightly, noticing him glance down at my cleavage for a miniscule moment (enough to notice but not to lose focus).

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about. So if you'll excuse me, I have some z's to catch up on back home. You know, sleep I lost because you were working my ass off last night. And then I have some home school paperwork to discuss with my mother."

Sasha shook his head and laughed. There was something behind that laugh, something I couldn't put my finger on.

"In my gym," he walked around the front of his desk, closing the gap between us, "my gymnasts don't go home when they please. They stay here and work."

"Good thing I'm not one of your gymnasts," I laughed and he joined me. So this was a big joke to him. I had gotten worried for a split moment.

"Oh, but you are."

I planted myself promptly on Sasha's black office couch, refusing to move until my mom came at nine for her morning checkup. It was all a big misunderstanding. I wasn't a gymnast. I wasn't even a good dancer. Okay, I take that back. I was a good dancer, but not great and greatness is what they breed here at The Rock.

I heard the familiar clicking of my mother's outrageously expensive Jimmy Choo's just before I could doze off again. She and Sasha stopped just outside the door. Mumbles mostly but I distinctly heard something that crushed my soul.

"-didn't think you'd tell her yet."

It was true. My life was about to become a living hell. The two appeared in a blur and I don't remember much of what was said. I didn't even bother to argue. No one could ever change my mother's mind, and I wasn't about to lay into Sasha.

"And anyways, I suppose I forgot to tell Sasha that I didn't want you starting until tomorrow when you'd had a full day to get settled."

I could never tell my mother the reason why I refused so desperately to go to public school, but that was okay. I could suck it up and push through this. I gave it a month. One month and then I can begin the crying and whining.

"Be here at five am. We've got to get started," Sasha's voice broke the flashback to freshman year I was about to have.

"Whatever," I muttered, standing with my best hurt puppy look on my face.

My mother rubbed her hand in a circle on my back. I chanced to take a look back at Sasha. I shot him all the hatred I was feeling with just one look. His face looked as if he hadn't expected me to look back, to see this hungry look in his eyes.

Mom insisted I ride home with her, abandoning my car at The Rock until after Olivia's practice was over. I didn't ask for any answers but she was giving them.

"I couldn't just let you sit at home all day. What was I supposed to do Em? I know you won't go back to the school and after what happened with Arizona, applying to another school isn't really a feasible option."

She talked all the way home, and then some more as we sat together signing contracts for The Rock and homeschooling. I didn't hear a single thing she said though. I could only hear Sasha's voice. The previous night played in my head and it began to seem more and more like a test of some sort. I knew myself well enough to know that had Sasha been some friend's uncle or some actor I would have been swooning over every little thing he did. But because he wasn't I needed to stay far, far away from him.

I was running late, way late. The Rock was a minimum drive of five minutes and I had ten minutes to be there. My leo was turning and bunching as I tugged it briskly. I would never be in the Olympics for gymnastics, but maybe if they add speed teeth brushing before 2012 I'll have a shot.

I raced down the wooden stairs, falling down the last two. The front door was within sight and my gym bag was right next to it. I had time.

"Emily, wait a minute. I need to give you something," my mom handed me a dress bag and shoe box.

I raised an eyebrow and tried to hand them back. "I've really got to go mom."

"Keep these. They're for tonight. Your father's big benefit is tonight and I want those with you in case Sasha keeps you late at the gym. You have to be there by seven though. It's a big deal and we need you to look presentable so we can sort of reintroduce you."

I restrained an eye roll and ran to my car. I pulled into the parking lot at 5:02 and was stretching by 5:03. I ripped my warm ups off and eyed the room tentatively. My heart slowed as it appeared Mr. Coach from Hell was nowhere to be found. I kicked my right foot up on the beam and reached over with my left hand.

"Rule number one, don't be late." I closed my eyes, not wanting to speak because I had a feeling he was just getting started. "Rule number two, no dating." I could hear his voice getting closer. "Rule number three, what I say goes. I don't need you risking a serious injury because you can't listen. Do I make myself clear?"

He appeared next to the beam as I opened my eyes. I nodded and the corner of his mouth curved into a smile. Sasha knew I saw it and immediately the ice king returned.

"May I speak now?" I requested, switching legs on the beam. He made a motion as if to say the floor was now mine. "I don't like having to wear these ridiculous," I looked down at the leotard, "things. I don't like being told what to do, but I'm a good listener. I don't want to be here. And frankly, I don't like you."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **So this is chapter two. The start is a little slow, but I need to develop this OC. I've been writing constantly and my two day waiting period is up. I'd love feedback. I hope you all like it. There might be one more tonight, after that it'll be a few days. (Probably. :]) Right so... comments and criticisms are welcome. 


	3. Chapter 3

He started to laugh with such force that his whole body shook. I folded over into a backbend. From upside down I watched him stroke his stubbly face with one hand.

"Well that's very honest, now it's my turn. I don't care, you will listen, I don't care, and I'm not here to be liked." I kicked over and stared him straight in the eye. "Do the backbend walkover again. This time, don't rotate your hips to the side.

I did my best, but when I stood he was shaking his head. "Slowly lower," I did my best, but my arms faltered a little as I saw him approaching. His palm forced my back to arch more. I tried not to react to his touch but I felt my muscles tense. "Are you okay?" he seemed genuinely concerned.

"Fine," I muttered. I lectured myself quickly. Stop acting like the teenage girl you are, I told myself. As my muscles deflated and I held the pose he backed away. Sasha asked me to continue the kick over as slow as I could. I pushed with my toe, but nearly fell again as I felt his hands on my hips, forcing me to kick straight back.

"You need more conditioning. Pull ups, I'll be in my office."

I tried not to watch his butt as he walked away, but I'd be lying if I didn't say he looks good in his jeans. I hung momentarily on the bars trying to figure out what to do. I'd crushed on one of my teachers back in Arizona, tried to flirt with him a few times on dares, but it wasn't the same. With Sasha, he was allowed to touch me. Not inappropriately of course, but we could have physical contact. And after my severe case of strep throat in eighth grade where I watched nothing but BBC America, I'd been in love with British accents. If I wasn't very careful, I was going to make a big fool out of myself. Seventeen year old hormones don't know how to keep themselves in line if you can understand what I'm saying.

I ran to the showers at six, leaving Becca, Payson, and a few others who were staying late to finish up. I heard footsteps a few minutes after I turned off the shower. At least, I thought I heard footsteps, but then they were gone. I made a mental note to stop watching horror films. I was about to de-towel when I heard the footsteps again. I pulled the white cotton closer. Sasha appeared looking surprised to say the least.

"Oh, um," was all he managed to say.

"I have this family dinner thing to get ready for and I came in here to shower not that long ago. I'll just be a minute."

His lips were slightly parted. His forehead wrinkled as he lifted his eyebrows. "Yeah, I've got a thing too. I'm just going to," he stopped mid sentence and jerked his thumb in the direction of the door. I saw his baby blue eyes steal a last glance over his shoulder.

I was outside the banquet hall ten minutes early. My mother's eyes lit up as she saw me, probably thanking god that I was able to follow her simple instructions. The dress she picked out for me was boring. It was a flat plum color with one shoulder to cover any cleavage, and a hem that dropped just past my knees. My ankles were hurting from the day's work out and the last thing I wanted was to be wearing the stupid peep toes mom insisted would be simply adorable on me. Throw in a low ponytail, pearl earrings, and I was exactly the daughter my parents always wanted and that I sometimes was.

Olivia and I didn't have dates we had dances. Every one of my dad's fellow politicians had sons and my mother took great liberty in saying, "Oh she would love to dance with him," as many times as possible after dinner. I had finally gotten a cute one to ask permission to dance with me. It was very exciting until he thought that my accepting meant he could put his hand on my ass as we danced.

I forced myself to look away from him because if not, I was going to gag. He looked at me with a lust that only teenage boys know how to flaunt so openly. I did my best to be a good daughter, pulling his hand up every few steps and smiling sweetly at my parents from the dance floor. He pulled me tightly against his body.

"May I cut in?" a calm voice said from behind me. I froze instantly as Mark, or Luke, or whoever tried to keep dancing. He looked at me quizzically and just shrugged his shoulders.

Sasha slipped into my grasp and led me into the waltz once more. "One day and you've broken two rules."

I caught my mom's eye as she tried to figure out who I was dancing with. Sasha noticed her gaze and nodded to her. She smiled, nodded back, and then threw herself into a conversation with whoever was on her right.

"I'm not dating anyone and to be honest, your arrogant asshole self is the last thing I need after having my toes stepped on and my ass grabbed all night." I put the wall between us. I knew by his lack of words that I'd overstepped a bit and maybe even hurt him, but it was better this way.

It was nearly ten when I begged my mother to let me excuse myself. She'd let Olivia go a half hour before and I was tired having of creepy middle-aged men subtly hit on me. I hummed to myself as I walked slowly down the steps. I closed my eyes for one moment, lost in my own head, and then I could feel it. My foot came down on the step between the heel and the toe. My left knee buckled under my weight. I could feel my stomach dropping like I was on a roller coaster.

And then I just wasn't falling; I wasn't supporting my own weight. I could feel someone holding me up and I tried to stand quickly on my own.

"Hold on a minute, take your time," him again. When I finally stood, I turned to look up at Sasha. "That could have been a really nasty fall."

I nodded, looking down and inspecting my foot. "I suppose I should thank you." And for a second he smiled. I didn't thank him though because, well, that would have just been too easy.


	4. Chapter 4

I had begged Sasha to let me wait until six to begin working. I don't know why he'd agreed, but I was glad. I got up at 4:45 and set out on a run. Our house was next to this small community park; the best part about the park was this quite trail that nobody ever used. I ran the trail, winding around the mountain. Just after five I spotted the gazebo.

The gazebo was a local favorite when we were kids, but after Boulder grew people really only went up for the occasional wedding. Forty feet in diameter and sixteen feet high it was a majestic sight to say the least.

I still don't know what possessed me to start dancing that morning, but I did. I listened to the beat of the music in my ears and leaped across the white wash wooden panels. I threw myself into a round off back handspring. My heart beat worked to match itself with the drumming in the music. Something took over as I spun. I ran as fast as possible and landed a perfect aerial. All fear was gone. I did a double tuck off the guard rail.

I mumbled ballet words to myself as I executed them, not worrying how they looked for the first time in a long time: grand allegro, arabesque, tour jete, arabesque. I tried to stay on the tip of my toe in my final arabesque and that's when I couldn't handle it anymore. Emotions flooded me. I, the queen of holding it together, was standing in the middle of the gazebo crying like I'd never cried before. My chest hurt and I was sure that I was having a heart attack. I heard footsteps that should have scared me, but they didn't.

I looked at Sasha through blurry tears. "Just save it," I barked, "I don't need-" I didn't get the chance to finish. He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me into a hug. "Why are you-"

And then he cut me off again. "Just shut up." I finished my crying more quietly but no less intensely.

When I arrived at the rock, at seven, with the other girls, I kept my head low. After that morning's performance I hadn't felt like being alone with Sasha anymore so I just hadn't showed up. He looked out from doorway of the office. I shuffled quickly across the floor to start stretching.

"Emily Bunting," he called, and I froze with my hands on my track pants. I looked slowly over my shoulder at him. "Level five compulsory skills right now." He nodded to Allison, one of the assistant coaches and walked down the stairs.

"I can't do that," I snapped without thinking.

"You can and you will." End of discussion.

Allison approached me with a sheet and the list of level five rotations. I squeezed my eyes shut, counting to ten before releasing the breath I was holding.

Payson's hand was on my forearm by the time I looked up again. "This is so unlike Sasha. This could put you in serious danger if you haven't been working out

3rd POV

Emily bit her lip as she stared at the vault. _No, no, no_. She stood next to it, adjusting the springboard until the coaches turned their backs and then she ran for it. She felt all the lies she had placed falling perfectly around her.

Before anyone had time to miss her she was already back home and in her bed. The first call she got was from Payson. She hid in the bathroom to get a minute to talk to Emily.

"Sasha is popping a blood vessel right now thanks to you and he is taking it out on us. Thank you very much. And I'm going to hang up on you now and don't think about calling me and getting me in anymore trouble until Becca and I come over later." Payson ended her rant with a growl into the phone.

Next was her mother. "Emily Anne, I don't even know what to say to you right now. You know your father and I won't be home tonight, he's got business in the capital all day today and tomorrow. The Keelers are still welcome tonight but don't think that this is over."

But it was over, for Emily that is. She busied herself with homework and chores. Emily texted Olivia to get a ride with Payson. At least she wouldn't have to drive back to The Rock and see Sasha. Hopefully she could agree to go back to public school. Anything would be better than throwing herself back into that sport.

Olivia let her sister know that they'd be ready for their stress free Saturday night after Mrs. Keeler had Pay help her with some stuff around the house. Emily put on an old club shirt that was three sizes too big, soffe shorts, and knee socks. _Stress free Saturday night here I come_. She ran to the kitchen.

Baking was the only thing Emily could think of to make her not think. She pulled out flour, sugar, and chocolate chips as she worked to not focus on Sasha. He really was attractive. It wasn't like she hadn't seen better looking men, but she couldn't wrap her mind around the scene from this morning. He barely knew her and yet he was willing to let her stand there crying on his shirt for absolutely no reason at all.

The doorbell rang at 6:30, a half hour earlier than she was expecting the girls. Her timer went off so she just called to them that it was open and ran to the oven. She slipped the next metal pan into the oven when a thought hit her. _Why didn't Liv use her key? _

"Emily, I need to speak with you." Sasha Belov wasn't one to go chasing girls around, but he needed a few answers first.


	5. Chapter 5

She set her pot holder down and picked up a spatula. "Are you stalking me?" She delicately moved each cookie, waiting for him to start talking.

"Why did you quit gymnastics?"

_Easy questions first okay_, "I didn't like that my friends were passing me. I was a kid, so I quit. I took up dancing, found I was better at that, and went on. Next question."

She spooned dough onto a sheet. He watched her lips as she spoke and still as she sucked the chocolate chips off her finger.

"Alright, next question," he sat down on a stool next to the island and folded his hands in his lap. "Why are you lying to me?"

"I'm not," Emily said simply.

She rinsed her hands then took a seat on the stool opposite his. She folded her arms on the marble surface and waited. Emily smiled at him, but Sasha's eyes told her he wasn't buying it.

"I spoke with Marty," her eyes went wide. Sasha paused, forgot what he was doing, and let a smile slip onto his mouth. She was just being so cute. When her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion he continued, "And I happen to know that you passed level ten a long time ago."

"Do you want something to drink?" Emily asked, jumping up from her stool. Her blue socks slid across the tile floor as she collided with the large fridge. Sasha realized how short Emily's shorts were when she began reaching far back into the fridge. _Focus Belov, focus. You need to talk to her seriously. _"We have an assortment of juices, milk, water, beer," she was rambling, "or I can make us some hot tea? I'm just going to put on the kettle." Emily placed the kettle under the water faucet and then with lightning speed it was on the stove top.

"Emily stop it, stop being ridiculous. Marty told me that when you left for school he had helped you with enough tricks to easily be a level ten. You could continue and be an elite if you chose to."

"Well now it's my turn Belov. You need to stop being ridiculous," Emily brushed him off.

Sasha paced the kitchen floor, clearly not willing to leave. He was running out of alone time. "You told me you lost your passion, but from what I saw of you this morning… you have enough passion to get our entire team to nationals."

"Do you realize that my life has always been about perfection? Ever since my dad got into politics my life has been under a microscope. I couldn't handle it from gymnastics then and I couldn't handle it now. They wanted perfection out of me at school and so I stopped. I stopped before I could let them down. Don't you see? I will just let you down," she threw her hands up in exasperation. Sasha had never felt more frustrated in his life. He crossed the space between them. Emily held her hands up, "Please just do me a favor and don't come within an arms length of me."

Emily was feeling out of control. She wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to punch him or ravage him, but either way would not be good.

"Are you afraid of me?" he asked, honestly hurt.

She shook her head and leaned her elbows on the counter. "Don't you get anything? I'm scared of me."

"Don't **you **get anything? I don't run after gymnasts who walk out on me unless there is a pretty damn good reason," he yelled. His hands ran over the back of his neck. Sasha stood behind her, at more than an arms length, and just waited.

"Well, what's your damn good reason?" Emily asked, easing the tension a little when she used her fake British accent.

"You're good, great even. If you've just been working a few days a week with coaches in Arizona imagine what you could do six days a week with me," he slammed his fist down on the counter top.

_I know what I'd like to do with you six days a week. _Emily giggled at herself, but quickly jumped back into the conversation. "How do you know about that?"

Sasha smiled at her. "Marty knows a lot more about you than you think. And I can't stand here and let you waste this talent. You have a lot of people who believe in you right now, and the only way you're going to let anyone down is by not seriously trying."

Emily ran a hand through her hair. Even now that she had gotten so good at lying to herself; here he was, proving that someone could see the truth. She had always told herself that she didn't care about gymnastics, she wasn't good enough.

Sasha watched her eyes flick back and forth across his face. He was looking past her gaze. He was watching that mental block come down and the hard exterior crumbled with the interior. She turned hastily away from him; crying once in front of him was bad enough. Sasha walked forward and placed both hands on her shoulders tentatively. Emily trembled as she worked not to cry or turn around do something that would probably guarantee that Sasha wouldn't want to see her at The Rock or ever again.

"We don't have forever, you're going to have to face this eventually," Sasha spoke in a hushed voice.

Emily spun around, taking several deep breaths before looking at him. "Thank you," was all she could manage. She stood on her tip-toes to kiss his unshaven cheek. She pulled her lips away but didn't move. She felt his breath on his on her face. _Why hasn't he pulled back?_


	6. Chapter 6

Sasha felt paralyzed. It wasn't inappropriate. People kiss other people on the cheek all the time. In Europe is hardly uncommon, but there they were. He felt like he'd violated her though he was the one kissed. And before he could move, she shot around him to the oven. He was about to ask why she'd thanked him when he heard several giggles come from the foyer. _Damn she's good. That would have been…not okay to say the least. _

"Sasha? What are you doing here?" Olivia, Payson, and Becca stopped.

Coach Belov quickly returned. "I came here for answers. It is never okay to just walk out of the gym. Is that understood?"

Yes Sasha left their mouths in unison and he was gone before they had time to realize that they weren't even the ones in trouble.

Emily's POV

Becca and Liv fell asleep hours before they planned, leaving Payson and I just staring at the TV.

"Can I tell you something?" Pay said, seconds before I was sure I was going to doze off. Without waiting for an answer she continued, "I think you're a coward." I sat up straight against the arm of the couch. "I don't understand how you can just quit like that. You left me when I needed you. We were both supposed to be at the junior nationals and we were both supposed to be at nationals and you know it."

Her words didn't sound bitter, but rather sad. I nodded, but chose my words carefully. "I know, but I don't have a reason for you if that's what you want."

She shook her long blonde hair and hid her face from me. "I don't want one; I just don't want you wasting a lot of people's time if you're just going to leave again."

I took the hint and crawled across the couch to hug her. "I'm back Pay, I'm not leaving." I didn't know what had prompted her tears, but she'd been through a lot, a lot that I wasn't there to help her with.

I didn't go to sleep that night. Payson passed out at barely midnight and I sat at the kitchen table by myself for hours. I don't think it's possible to count the cups of tea I made. Wide awake and yet still dreaming, my thoughts alternated between my coach and my gymnastics. I visualized the different tumbling passes I had worked on, the beam routines I practiced countless times just because. Then I saw him, and the way he looked at me when he smiled, and the feel of his breath on my skin as I shivered and cried.

I ran to the living room at 3:15 on the dot. I shook Payson lightly to wake her. "How mad would Sasha be if I went to The Rock right now and begged him to train with me?"

She went from asleep to squinting at her phone so fast I wasn't completely sure she had woken up. "Scale of one to ten?" I nodded as she relaxed back on the pillow. "Remember when you cut the rope to the tree house while we were in it so Becca and Olivia couldn't get in and then your dad had to call the fire department to get us out?" I nodded again and she turned into the back of the couch, taking a deep breath. "Madder."

I smiled anyway, running to put on a leo and grab my bag. I had my doubts that Payson would remember our conversation so I left them a note by the fruit bowl. I drove, fast. Curfew was one on the weekends for minors so I crossed my fingers on the steering wheel. It wasn't until I was standing outside of his trailer that my heart started to pound. My fist knocked on the metal door unconsciously. I was scared to try any louder. I put my back against the door and slumped to the ground. I ran my fingers across the Astroturf and checked my phone. For the first time in years I wanted to be in there tumbling and sweating and trying to be perfect, but my timing sucked.

I looked at the sky trying to pick out constellations when I saw the light coming from a window inside The Rock. I was hesitant as I stood in front of the doors, but they came open without any effort. The sight of Sasha on the parallel bars caught my breath. I stood only a few feet away, staring at his lack of shirt, before I cleared my throat.

Sasha's head jerked to the right, but he didn't move. "What are you doing? You do realize it's three in the morning?"

I set down my gym bag and began to pace in front of the bars. "I need to explain some things to you. I know why I changed to dance, I know why I quit. I told you I didn't want to be perfect. I was scared, but I guess I never really knew why, or I just didn't ask myself why," my hands were fumbling in the air, desperate for somewhere to be. I watched my feet for a moment then watched Sasha do another push up before I continued, "Do you know how many dancers there are? I can tell you there are a whole lot more of them than elite gymnasts. And I always told myself I was just doing gymnastics to stay in shape, but then it hit me. I was just sitting there drinking my tea thinking about tumbling, and I never quit gymnastics. When I wanted to escape from dance and school I came here to work with Marty, and then I started going to Oakwood's. I didn't just go a few days a week Sasha; I went every day they were open."

He hopped down from the bars and grabbed a towel to wipe his face with. I started talking before he could. "It's what I always wanted to do. I just wanted to believe that I sucked because then I wouldn't have to make that choice. This sport is such a gamble. We're gambling on our lives, our futures, in hopes of what? I just, I've been lying. I'm such a liar." My shoulders sagged and I stopped pacing.

"Are you done?" he questioned, face stern, arms crossed. I nodded feeling like a child who is about to be scolded. "Floor, now." I blinked twice. "What are you waiting for? Go stretch."

I tripped over my feet as I tried to get my shoes off and walk at the same time. I fumbled with the zipper to my jacket, and almost fell to my knees as I pulled down my basketball shorts. I ran my hands over the blue floor after I sat down. I was momentarily lost in thoughts when Sasha barked again.

"I'm sorry, I was unaware day dreaming became an Olympic sport, I'll just leave you to it."

I looked up to see he had wiped off most of the sweat and put on a plain gray t-shirt. He looked back at me, first stern, then confused. Embarrassment hit me as I realized I was staring. My cheeks heated so I put my feet out in front of me and leaned forward to hide my face.

"What are you doing up so late, if you don't mind my asking?" I switched to a v-sit and looked at him before reaching forward.

"I had a lot on my mind and couldn't sleep."

I looked up at him and for a split second he appeared vulnerable. I saw the real Sasha. He wasn't looking at me, and obviously didn't know I was watching him as he ran a hand through his hair and stared at some invisible speck on the ground. His face was soft and I swear there was the faintest smile on his lips. But it all disappeared as he looked up from the ground to see me, not stretching.

"Do you need to do an extra half hour of conditioning to remind you what stretching is?"

Sasha pushed me harder than I had ever been pushed by Marty or Eric at Oakwood. He made me want to quit, but half way through I understood that was his point. He thought this was just some passing thought in my head and he needed confirmation that I was serious. I tried to prove it to him. I didn't complain. I put all of my worries about why I quit out of my head and tried to stay in the moment.

The only time my thoughts diverted was when I caught a glimpse of Sasha without his stern coach face on. When I did I would falter, just a bit, and the coach would come back and ruin it.

"Emily, I think we should be done for today," Sasha said putting a hand on my shoulder.

Even I couldn't argue. I could feel the sleep in my eyes; they were heavy. I thought I would shatter from the stiffness I felt in my joints. But most of all, I could feel my body heat up as Sasha touched me. I smiled up at him wrapped my arms around his torso in a quick hug. His body went rigid before he hugged me back lightly.

"Thank you. Thank you for making me realize that I was being an idiot, for pushing me until I thought of quitting. But I don't want to quit. I want this. I pretended I didn't, but you made me want this," I pulled away and turned before I regret saying anything.

"And I want you," Sasha said and I snapped around. "I want this FOR you, for you."

I nodded as I watched him chuckle nervously. "I'm going to go sleep now, even though it's," I looked at my watch, "eight in the morning. And Payson is going to kill me. I've really got to go."

He followed me out, locking up the rock, and heading into the air stream. I sank into the driver's seat after he closed the door.

"I want you too," I started the car and headed home to call my mom and do damage control.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **So. It's been a bit. Probably not as long as it feels, but a bit. I wanted to write on this one but I kept having these crazy ideas for other stories so I had to get them all out so I could focus on this. I might be posting another Sasha/OC or Sasha/Payson fic if I can get all of my thoughts organized.


	7. Chapter 7

3rd POV

"I want you to sit out this meet," Sasha said after pulling Emily away from Kaylie and Payson's team pep talk.

Her jaw dropped in response. Automatically falling into defense mode, with her arms crossed Emily narrowed her eyes at Sasha. "Why? I thought we were good."

He sighed. He had been hoping for a bit much when he thought it would be easy. "You and I have only been working together for a week. You haven't had serious training, I mean real coaching, in years and your landings are sloppy," when Emily realized Sasha wasn't done she straightened her shoulders. "And your routines are mediocre at best. I don't want your big debut to be a bad one. You need to come out strong if you want to jump right into this."

Emily bit her tongue and turned from him. She tried to walk back to the team, but his hand caught her shoulder. She kept her back to Sasha. He squeezed her shoulder and leaned down. "I believe in you though, don't forget that," he whispered.

She jerked her shoulder from his hand and went to support her teammates like a good team player. Payson was ready to go yell at Sasha, but Emily stopped her.

"Just focus on beating Dallas," Emily nodded and gave her best fake smile. The girls smiled warmly back, gently patting her back.

And they did beat Dallas, without Emily's help. One of the male gymnasts, who'd been watching and supporting the girls, approached her after seeing the sad smile on her face.

"Why weren't you out there kicking ass and taking names?" Aiden Greenwood smiled down at her.

Emily jumped a tiny bit at the sound of his voice. She was still sitting on one of the benches, just staring as Payson tried to work through her only flaw of the day on bars.

"Sasha said I'm not ready," she said, willing herself to trust him. After years of waiting to compete again she could wait a few more weeks.

Aiden made the Home Alone face and shook his head. "There is no way that's true. I've seen you working in here. You're great."

_This guy is trying really hard, _Emily thought to herself with a shy smile. Before she could come up with something flirty to say to him, Sasha barked her name from the platform. He was leaning forward, gripping the bars until the veins in his arms began to protrude. She looked from him back to Aiden, who gave her a knowing nod and left her side before she could open her mouth.

Emily stared at Sasha, who grew more impatient the longer she waited to come to him. His frustration wasn't entirely her fault. Sasha was a tad angry at the world. Summer had continued her hot and cold game after Worlds, and the part of him that wanted Emily just wouldn't shut up.

She stood from the bench and tightened her ponytail. She folded her arms across her chest and met Sasha halfway. He knew that Emily was angry with him, but she was doing a good job at keeping her mouth shut. _Lauren needs lessons from her._

"I know I told everyone they could go for the rest of the day, but I thought you could stay here and work," they both knew it wasn't a thought, but rather a command.

Payson walked past them at that moment, patting Sasha's arm and saying her goodbyes for the day. _She chooses today to not stay late, _Emily bit her lip and unzipped her warm ups. Sasha pushed her DOD up on vault after seeing Emily flawlessly land her original several times. The new one required more concentration, which was something she was lacking.

She ran at the vaulting table a countless number of times in the span of two hours. Upon her fifth fall in a row Emily gave up. She just let herself lie there. Her lack of movement caused Sasha to drop to her side.

"Don't move, don't try to move. What hurts?"

Emily kicked his hand away as it tried to mess with her foot. "Nothing hurts, except maybe my ego. There are only so many times a girl can run at stationary object," she sat up too fast, not giving Sasha time to pull back and his forehead collided with her mouth.

She was close enough now that he could feel breath against his face. Emily was propped up on one elbow now, her other hand holding her lip. His body was looming over hers where seconds before he had been worried she was seriously injured, but now he was torn between left over anger and lust.

The impact was enough to bust her lip, only slightly. When she removed her hand, Sasha saw the tiny cut. Instinctively, he reached his thumb up to brush away the single drop of blood. Emily looked down at his hand, her breathing getting steadily harder to control.

_Don't do this, _her mind screamed, _he's your coach. Focus on being mad at him. Come on. Stop being stupid. Nothing good will come of this if you do it. He's your coach and you are misreading signals. Don't blow this second chance on a crush. _

Her own voice was screaming in her head, but she couldn't make her vocal chords work. Breathing was so much effort that talking seemed impossible. Sasha's thumb swiped back over her bottom lip a second time. He started to pull away when she grabbed his wrist, still looking down.

Emily opened and closed her mouth several times, but words were still light years away.

"Look at me," he demanded in a hushed voice.

She shook her head, not trusting herself if she were too look at his eyes. _Damn teenage hormones. Just take a few deep breaths and then you can get up like nothing happened. _She did as her mind commanded. _In through the nose, out through the mouth. _

She released his wrist, and watched as it lingered in the air. Emily met Sasha's gaze. She quickly licked her lips and tried to focus on his nose rather than his eyes. His eyes dropped from hers, watching her tongue slide across the slightly swollen part and retreat in her mouth again.

She didn't realize that was what set him off, what turned him from a gymnastics coach to a man who just couldn't take it anymore. Aside from a few, very few, steamy kisses with Summer he hadn't been with a woman in more than a year. Her lips parted, which he took as an invitation as he leaned down the last two inches. Sasha hesitated, enjoying her hot breath against his lips before kissing her softly.

Emily gasped, and the elbow she'd been using to support her suddenly felt weak. Her right hand touched his face lightly as she took what little bit of energy she had to press their lips together. Sasha was momentarily shocked by her cold fingers on his face. His right hand went to her waist and his left guided her head down on the mat.

Sasha slipped out of his kneeling position to lay his body half on top of hers. His right hand ran the length of her torso and back down again to rest on her hip. Feeling some sense of urgency, Emily pushed her tongue into his mouth. Her hands tugged on his hair in an effort to bring their mouths closer. He grunted as fingers pressed into the nape of his neck. And his grunt turned into a full blown moan as Emily rocked her hips onto his.

Her lip was throbbing, but that wasn't why she pulled away. Her heart started to pound in her ears and Emily could taste bile in the back of her throat. She was screwing everything up. In a one fluid movement she rolled from beneath Sasha, causing him to slip all the way onto the mat. He looked at her with horror in his eyes as Emily began to cry lightly.

"I'm so sorry," she said and ran as fast as she could, stumbling only as she bent down to grab her warm-ups and bag on the way out.


	8. Chapter 8

Everything got messed up too quickly. One minute I thought that I wasn't good enough, that I didn't want it, and the next I was suiting up for training. As I sat on the edge of my bed, Sasha's kiss playing on repeat in my head, I started to go through the things I did know.

"I am Emily Bunting, and I can be an elite gymnast," I pinched the bridge of my nose, "I _am _an elite gymnast. Or I will be, once I've competed at regional's."

I was pacing around my room, repeating all of the things I knew about myself when Olivia knocked on my door that night. She entered and shut the door quietly before crossing her arms at me.

"You were at the gym late tonight," Liv smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Sasha doesn't usually keep people this late. So tell me what you were really up to."

My hands were shaking when I opened my mouth. She started giggling like crazy and jumped onto my star covered duvet.

"I knew it! You were with Aiden, weren't you? Please give me all the gory details."

"Even if I was with him, which I wasn't, I wouldn't tell you; you're my little sister. And you're fourteen!"

"And you're seventeen," she spat back.

I rolled my eyes and flopped down beside her with a dramatic sigh. We laid in silence. I couldn't stop seeing the kiss with Sasha in my head. I knew he kissed back, but it just felt so… I don't even know if there are words to describe how I felt. Even though I knew it was both of us, I couldn't stop blaming myself. I buried my eyes in the corner of my elbow.

"I kissed Sasha, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to die from embarrassment if I ever have to go back to the Rock."

The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. Olivia started laughing hysterically.

"What is it with that guy? First Payson, and now you."

I snapped my head towards her, and began mumbling what I hope sounded like, "What?"

"A bit ago, Payson kissed Sasha and it was caught on the training cam. Blah, blah, blah, long story short, both of you have now kissed our coach. He's not even cute! Sasha's just too… mean? I don't know. You guys are crazy. Stick with Aiden."

With that she gave me a wink and walked right out of my room. Aiden, he was an option I hadn't considered. If I needed a distraction from Sasha, he would be perfect, or at least sufficient. He's cute, nice, and, most importantly, age appropriate. Aiden gets the ins and outs of gymnastics.

That conversation with Olivia is how I ended up calling Aiden and asking him to come to the park with my sister and me the next day.

The air was chilly, but wearing a black shirt was not a good idea. The sun was nearly unbearable. It didn't help that I was irritable for the first half hour because I thought Aiden wasn't going to show up. All in all, My Sunday was off to a really rough start.

"Can we just go?" I hung off the monkey bars by my legs.

Olivia jumped from the swing again. She marked her spot in the small rocks and returned to her place. I watched her legs pump a few times before climbing down and sitting by the swing set.

"For once in my stupid life, I'm trying not to think about gymnastics. And guess what; it's working," she smiled wide.

Jump, mark, repeat.

"I just thought," I leaned back against the bar.

She didn't even ask me to finish my sentence she was so into her jumping cycle. My sunglasses fell off my head onto my nose with a little nod. I grabbed a handful of rocks and tossed them forward.

"Watch it now. If you don't want me here, all you have to do is say so."

Aiden playfully scuffed his foot, sending a few rocks my way. He walked around behind me when Olivia shouted at him. We watched her in an awkward silence. After her final jump, Liv took off for the merry-go-round. Aiden reached down to help me. I turned to walk away, but he tugged on my hand.

"Thanks for inviting me," he smiled down at me.

I shrugged, trying to avoid eye contact. During our last meeting, I noticed his eyes were the exact same color as Sasha's. He took my behavior as bashful and pulled me along to help push my sister. Aiden commanded me to hop into the center with Liv before he took off pushing us as fast as possible. I tried to walk while it was moving, something I'd love to do in elementary school.

One of them told me to be careful, but I got a little to close the edge. Aiden caught me just in time. We fell over, a laughing mess. I buried my head into his t-shirt, getting lost for a moment in his scent.

"Get up, get up, get up," Olivia said in hushed tones and kicked at my foot.

I looked up in time to see a very sweaty Sasha's shadow cover us. We scrambled to our feet.

"Don't get up on my account. You two look awfully chummy. Do I need to remind you of the **no dating rule**?"

I looked to my feet as I brushed off my back and butt.

"No sir," Aiden was the first to speak. "She was going to fall and I caught her. There was nothing going on."

Olivia grabbed my elbow, "Sorry Sasha, but my sister promised me a race around the park."

Sasha's face softened a bit my sister. She graciously drug me away before either of them could go on.

I stayed late Monday evening to practice my new bars routine. Sasha wanted me to do a Gienger, which I hadn't landed once all day. I hit my stomach on the mat, stood, and re-chalked. My monotonous sequence reminded me of my sister on the swing, which reminded me that Sasha was still pissed at me. Aiden informed me that after we ran off he received a stern coach speech about focus. Since I had yet to get my talking to, I was nothing but nerves all day.

Payson passed by me with a wave as I stood next to the chalk box. I heard her say goodbye to Sasha, and his feet patter down the stairs.

"You can go home now. No sense in wearing yourself down when it's only Monday."

"Since when do you say things like that? And I really need to stick this. Just one time, then I'll go home."

We had a two minute stare down before he shrugged and stepped closer to the bars. My mind raced all around the room, causing me to eat mat again. I worked through the move several more times, still not landing on my feet.

"We should discuss a few things," Sasha dug his hands into his pockets.

I must have chalked up four times, and was started on a fifth when his voice grew louder.

"Will you just stop for a minute? I need to apologize for my professionalism."

I held up my hands, "I just want to be your gymnast."

"I'm apologizing for my actions, not saying that I want to forget it."

**A/N: **Here are my major apologies. I've been crazy caught up in school. It's senior year. So I have a Paysha and another Payson/OC story I was working on. I want to upload them and have someone give me some feedback on which of those two I should continue after I finish up this one. Please let me know if you guys think this would work. So excited for MIOBI Season 3 (last season :'[ ) in three weeks!


	9. Chapter 9

Sasha took his hands from his pockets and began to ring them.

"Getting you to the Olympics, assuming that is your goal, isn't going to be any easy feat. The national committee is all about appearances, and it's very hard to get in this late in the game. I'm not saying forget; I'm just saying that we need to get our priorities straight."

I stripped off my grips and threw them by my gym bag. I knew I wouldn't be able to even mount the uneven bars again tonight. There was something just too weird about having those feelings reciprocated. I wanted to blame myself, but there was Sasha, taking the weight from my shoulders.

"I don't know what to say," I whispered over my shoulder as I walked to the floor.

Sasha was following me; I didn't have to turn around to know that. I barely had time to think about what I wanted to tell him before my phone rang. I sprinted past Sasha and grabbed the phone, desperate for a distraction.

"Hey Kay," I said as the beautiful British man to my left sent me a pleading look.

Ignoring him was no easy feat, but I did my best to listen to Kaylie invite me to Spruce Juice with her, Kelly, Pay, and Lauren. She wouldn't fall for any excuse I tried dish out, so I finally broke down and agreed to meet them in ten minutes.

"We'll have to finish this later, which is probably for the better. I just need a minute."

He nodded curtly, his lips pressed in a tight line, "This isn't over."

I tried to enjoy myself, I really did. We laughed, even cried a little, and ended our night on a high note. Sort of. There was that nagging voice in the back of my head that wanted me to fix things. But fixing things…that's not really a simple task. If I chose him, much to his dismay, I'd be giving up my gymnastics and my daily dose of Sasha. If I chose gymnastics, I would need to concentrate one hundred percent.

I dropped Payson by her house on my way home. Our car conversation was minimal until I brought up her kiss with Sasha.

"So, uh, you remember all that trouble with the NGO last year?"

That was the most eloquent way I could approach the awkward subject. She eyed me and nodded slowly.

"Well I was just wondering, you know, how you dealt with that awkward stuff with Sasha."

Her hands fidgeted around in her lap as we turned another corner.

"He wouldn't touch me for a little bit, and there was a wall between us. I guess—wait a minute. You didn't!" she squealed with laughter.

Well at least she let me know his reaction towards me was nothing like with her. Payson was pink with laughter by the time we rolled into her driveway. I had to reach over and unbelt her to give her the hint.

"I'm going, I'm going. Just know you're not alone. I am, however, super over that. At least yours wasn't caught on camera. The crush will pass."

I watched her get out and enter the house before I let out a big sigh. For the few minutes before I confronted her about her experience with Sasha, I was afraid maybe he was playing me, that maybe he was some kind of pervert. Even with my conformation, I wrestled to stay asleep that night as my thoughts kept driving me mad.

The next morning both of my parents managed to escort me to my six month dentist appointment. They were still scared I was going to bail, plus why not get some great shots of family bonding for PR for the new campaign? It was definitely a two-for-one deal. I guess Sasha forgot I wouldn't be at the gym until after lunch because I could hear his voice yelling from my mom's blue tooth. I received a text saying our conversation wasn't over as soon as she hung up. Sasha had never texted me before; it seemed to risky.

As usual the office was running half an hour behind schedule. I tried to busy myself with Angry Birds and then attempted to visualize my floor. Running it in your head is not particularly satisfying. I kicked at a Lego near my foot. Across the waiting room, pale blue eyes and short blonde hair caught my attention. The smirk on his face was unforgettable, and not in a good way.

_Daniel. _

It's amazing that I never realized how much Sasha and Daniel looked alike. Of course, Danny was twelve or thirteen years younger. My gaze wandered around, but he had obviously noticed our brief eye contact.

Later in the day, I couldn't forget the smug look that was on Daniel's face as he watched me tap my foot and jitter to no end. Sasha stayed clear of reminding me about our conversation and instead yelled about this and that. My extensions were sloppy, landings sloppy, and if I had under-rotated another centimeter I would have broken my neck on vault. He eventually banned me from touching another apparatus. The rest of my day was devoted to conditioning. The only good part of that was when I was allowed outside, for a five mile run of course.

Most of the cars were gone from the Rock as I slowed to a walk at the entrance of the parking lot. Daniel was standing next to his black Escalade, the same look on his face as always. I wiped my forehead on the arm of my track jacket and looked to the ground. Part of me thought that if I pretended he wasn't there, he really wouldn't be.

"I knew you'd be here," his smile looked almost genuine, but I knew better. "Well, actually, your parents told me. Your dad said I could give you a ride home, isn't that nice of him? They still love me."

"They wouldn't if they knew what happened," I snapped bitterly and made for the door of the Rock. "Oh, and I have a car here. So don't bother waiting for me."

The sound of his Nikes got louder behind me.

"Come on; don't be like this Em."

I whipped around and growled as loud as I could manage. "Will you just shut up already? You know what you did. Or what you didn't do. You let them say-"

"What was I supposed to do? They're my friends."

I snorted, "Friends, right."

"Do we have a problem here?" Sasha's voice came out of nowhere.

Without looking at him I knew he was angry. I also felt assured that he would throw Danny in his car if need be.

"Just go home Danny, and please just stay away from me."

I walked into the Rock, barely resisting the urge to look over my shoulder. When I didn't immediately hear the door, I assumed Sasha was watching to make sure that he actually left. I was half way to the girl's locker room when I did hear him.

"What the hell was that?"

I stopped, but didn't look back. I couldn't answer him; I didn't want to. Sasha made no move to come get me, so I kept walking. There was only one thing on my mind and that was a shower.

**A/N: **So. One week. I managed to write most of this in the past hour. I apologize for any grammatical mistakes. Reviews are super duper appreciated. ;)


	10. Chapter 10

I emerged, forty-five minutes later, donning a much more comfortable jeans and t-shirt ensemble. My hair was dripping down my back. It would have been too much to ask that Sasha had locked himself inside his ugly trailer. He was sitting, head in hands, on the steps leading to the office.

His gorgeous blue eyes lifted just enough to see me before Sasha turned and led the way up the stairs. I got the message clear enough, _follow. _My sneakers made an awful noise as I hustled quickly behind him.

He sat in the chair that I usually saw occupied by Mrs. Keeler or Summer and made a motion towards his small, black couch. I folded one leg underneath me. I had some family thing in a week and Danny to stress over, but I just wanted to forget it all and enjoy being alone with Sasha. We hadn't finished our first talk, and I wasn't sure if we ever would thanks to Danny. Sasha's jealous and overprotective coach had him focused in on my ex-boyfriend.

"So, are you going to make me repeat myself? What the hell was that, Emily? I thought we talked about the no-dating rule. And more importantly than that, I thought," Sasha stopped himself.

He stretched his body out, leaned his head over the back of the chair and clamped his hands tightly over his face.

"I'm not dating him. And what exactly is that you thought?"

"No, this isn't about me. This is about you and that punk. Is he stalking you? Do I need to talk to your parents?"

I mimicked his earlier position, but chose to bury my head in the crook of my elbow. The silence in the room scared me. The Rock was never quiet. There was always the sound of chalk on grips, feet hitting the beam, grunts, or complaints; the list could go on forever.

Sasha beat his hand against the desk, scaring me from my own mind. I watched him stand and kick at a leg of the chair before turning towards me once more.

"What are you not telling me?"

I had one of those horrible movie-like flashes of Boulder high school and my short lived stint there. Most of my memory flashes involved Danny and his beef head friends.

"My parents will probably be expecting me. We've got to do a wardrobe run through for next week's schmooze benefit," I made to leave, but Sasha ran to my side on the couch.

"For such a smart girl, you don't understand the simplest of things. Not only am I your coach, but I-," he looked down at his hands and paused for a moment. "I care about you in other ways as well. I don't really think I can explain that just yet, but I do. I can help if this guy is harassing you. No matter what the circumstances," his hand reached out towards mine, hesitating in the air before gripping the edge of the couch.

Suddenly, I felt like I was in ninth grade again. I crossed my arms self consciously as his fingers inched towards mine.

"If you cared about me, you would drop this."

We sat in silence. For all the game I was talking, I didn't make any more moves to leave. It would be nice to tell someone, I mused, but I really didn't want Sasha to judge me.

"The things I've got running through my head make me want to find that kid and ring his neck. If you could at least tell me what it's not so I don't do anything rash," Sasha touched my thigh lightly, probably hoping to attract my gaze, but really just distracting me.

More silence followed, but when I looked at the clock, only ten minutes had passed since I left the locker room.

"I was a willing participant, but that doesn't mean I can forget it. I can't even go to the grocery store without being reminded of," I chanced a glance over at him before focusing on the wall again, "everything."

He tugged my elbow until my head collapsed on his shoulder. Sasha kept his hands in his lap; he was careful to situate us into an appropriate position should anyone decide to make a late night visit to the Rock.

"I was barely fourteen when I was a freshman. Up to that point, my parents had continued with the homeschooling. Starting high school seemed like a fresh start for me. Daniel was a junior, my parents loved him, and as cliché as it sounds, what could go wrong? We dated for about four months before we had sex."

Sasha stiffened under my head. I watched the vein on his arm protrude as he gripped the leg of his pants tighter. I grabbed his forearm with a chilled hand and he relaxed. His left hand covered mine before I continued.

"And I sometimes think he still loved me. He didn't start the rumors. I think it was just one rumor to begin with; one of his friends insinuated something, people took it too far, and it just kept going from there. He didn't stop his jock friends from saying those things. Another girls under their belts did wonders for their reps. I even heard him publicly discussing our slight bedroom life."

I hoped the rest spoke for itself. I was so ashamed of the things being said about me that I applied to every major residential and arts academy in the US. I ran like a coward.

Sasha shifted under my head. Leather and original Old Spice wafted towards me with every move he made. I gripped his arm tighter when I thought he was moving to get up.

"So you dumped him, at least that's a part of the story I'm hoping you just didn't say."

"Obviously," I detached myself from him to lean forward with my elbows on my knees. His hand gripped my neck, working the day's stress away. "I need gymnastics to focus on, and I need you to promise me we won't talk about this again."

I barely had time to blink before Sasha's hand traveled down my jaw to grab my chin. His kiss was much gentler than the first time. I'm still afraid that I scared him with my story. I knew he wanted to kill Daniel just as much as before my confession. I swiveled my hips to face him. I wanted to battle Sasha for control, it was in my nature, but he seemed to need it more than I wanted it.

My phone buzzed in my front pocket. I pulled away, wiping at the corner of his mouth with my thumb.

"Where are you? Daniel came by here over an hour ago. We expected him to bring you home, and then he shows up here waiting for you. Emily, so help me God," my mother's tone of voice clearly threatened to continue.

"I just finished up showering. I had to take an ice bath after the day I had in the gym. If Daniel is still there when I get home, Mom, you can bet I won't stay long."

She gave a slight sigh, but agreed. I stood, stretching my arms a bit. Sasha swiftly pulled me into a tight hug, giving me another chance to commit his smell to memory. His jacket smelled vaguely of cigars and liquor. I didn't even want to know all it had been through.

He walked me out to my car, grabbing the door as I was buckling in.

"Don't think I've forgotten that we have some more things to discuss. This can't go on like this. We have to have a plan, or an idea, something."

I nodded my agreement, not trusting my verbal communication. Sasha's mere presence had a way of turning my knees to jelly. The past half hour of touching, hearing, smelling him on me was almost too much to handle. As I drove the short distance, I tried to imagine how I would react being any closer to him, which I hoped would happen someday. I shuddered at the thought.

**A/N: **Yea or nay? Reviews please? I really need to know how I'm doing. Also, would you readers prefer a Paysha or another Payson/OC when I [eventually, not now] end this?


	11. Chapter 11

My parents finally gave me back the keys to my car with zero restrictions. Somewhere along the line I proved I could follow the rules. When I pulled into the Rock, surprisingly early for having to tow in my sister, we were shocked to find that Sasha's home was gone. The Keelers pulled in quickly beside us, and I hopped out just in time to see Payson throw her gym bag to the ground.

"He promised, mom! He said never again. I can't believe we bought that load of-"

Sasha's motorcycle roared into the parking lot, stopping Payson's rant. She grabbed her bag, folded her arms, and began to tap her foot like a parent ready to scold a child. He put the kick stand down. Being in the back of our small huddle gave me a moment to eye him over. Sasha's talk and our lack of alone time had given me some frustrated feelings to say the least.

Sasha, gymnastics, Sasha, gymnastics, Sasha, gymnastics.

That was my brain. It was only a few days since our heart-to-heart, unfortunately not that long since I'd seen Danny. My only saving grace was when my mother had the pleasure of letting Danny know that the Rock had a serious zero tolerance policy with dating.

I was shaken from my thoughts when Payson gave Sasha a swift punch in the arm. Today was not the day for me to be losing focus. I had one week until my first regional, NGO sanctioned event. That competition would determine my status as an elite gymnast. My double back dismount on bars was almost consistent enough for it to be categorized as a sure thing. If by some luck I could place top ten, the NGO would take me seriously. With just nine months until invitations to the USA training center, it was make it or break it time. Show them something reliable and jaw-dropping, and I just might have a shot.

I worked on auto pilot through the morning, all but missing the couple of snide remarks Lauren Tanner threw my way. Sasha was preoccupied with Kaylie's beam, and Payson splitting her time between her floor and my vault. Being excellent in three apparatuses would do me no good if I wasn't even proficient in the fourth.

That day led into another late night for me and Sasha. Mom had arrived promptly at four to pick up Olivia, leaving me and my car for as long as I needed. My immaturity was showing through as my face flushed with one gaze from Sasha on the platform. He was eyeing my artistic floor routine carefully. I shot him a small smile as he approached.

"Hey, uh, I'd like to talk to you."

Those words damn near shocked me. I spun out of my illusion, planted my hands firmly on my hips, and turned towards the edge of the mat where he stood hands in pockets.

"I think I might have rushed things a bit the other day. Aside from the fact that this is inappropriate on more than one level, it seriously puts your chance at a future in gymnastics at risk. And, well, I'm not completely sure I'm over Summer. I just wanted you to hear it from me; I've got a blind date. One of the moms set me up. Please, don't look at me like that. I just need to be sure whatever feelings I have for you are real before I get in over my head."

I remained silent through his entire spiel, only moving to tighten my ponytail and wipe a stray bead of sweat from my forehead. I nodded silently after he'd finished.

"Well, you do what you have to do, and I'll do what I have to do," I said very stoically before turning to do a split leap.

"Emily, what do you mean by that?" his voice was rather silent compared to the usual coach boom.

I completed another leap as I answered.

"I mean, that you can't expect me to just be here while you go off and whore around with someone else. I like Aiden, and he's a nice guy. If you are allowed to play the field and test out your feelings for me, I should be able to do the same. It's only fair."

I could tell he was biting the inside of his cheek. If I wasn't trying to prove a point, I might have pointed it out to him and added a small peck where the tension in his jaw was. Sasha shook his head no quickly.

"I can't allow that. You are a gymnast here at the Rock, and as such you will follow the rules."

I threw my hands up. "So, it's okay if I'm with you, but not if I'm with anyone else!"

He sighed and closed his eyes slowly. "See, this is why we can't be together, at least not right now. There are rules, and I can't let you break them even for me."

I left that evening bitterer than I had been in a long time. I took Saturday off, claiming a migraine. Aiden was gone with the men's team to a competition in Boston, and Olivia and the Keelers were out of town for the weekend. It was a last, little getaway before regionals. Mom and dad had promised me a family movie night, but some opportunity came up for them to go meet the governor of some state.

I circled Blockbusters for the third time. Even the guy at the front knew that was one go round past pathetic. Alone time is good, but sometimes you just get lonely and nothing seems to fix it. I picked up _Flash Dance_ to read the back.

"I thought you would have the back of that one memorized by now."

"Tonight is not the night, Daniel. Go away, and we can try that a different time."

Heat was radiating from Danny as he walked closer to me. I could almost pretend it was three years back. I'd tell him _Flash Dance _was the best movie on the planet. He'd argue for some action flick. I'd say please and peck him on the lips until he caved.

"Hey, are you okay? You didn't even try to insult my manhood."

I tucked the DVD under my arm and kept walking, which turned out to be a bad decision. Not only did Daniel follow me and continue to babble apologies for the past, but I ran straight into Sasha and his disgustingly beautiful redhead date.

"Emily."

My name on his lips was like sugar, lips that would be kissing _those _lips eventually.

"Emily?"

It just didn't sound as good coming from her overly plumped, red lips.

"Natasha, this is Emily. She's one of my gymnasts."

With the threat clear, she smiled wide and cooed about how talented I must be. Sasha's eyes flicked up to Daniel, and I took a step closer to him. Our coats brushed and Danny leaned closer.

"We should be going," I said interrupting Natasha mid-sentence.

After I'd side-stepped the two of them and Daniel had caught up, I turned to see him cheesing like a fool.

"We?" he asked, trying to suppress the smile.

"Just shut up. And you're paying." Revenge is pretty sweet.

**A/N: **And I'm alive! I'm done with high school. It took long enough. Graduation is on Saturday. I should be updating more now. 3


	12. Chapter 12

I would be lying if I said that night and the next few days weren't some of the weirdest I'd ever experienced. Daniel was a perfect gentleman, sitting on the floor while I lay on the couch watching my favorite movie. It was the first time I didn't quote every line; I didn't even quote a single one. My mind was retracing every curve of Natasha's tight black dress and zooming in on Sasha's hand placed a little too low for it to even be considered her waist anymore.

The next morning, after I'd found mom and dad missing with only a note on the fridge in their place, I ran to the store for some comfort food, anything on the nutritionist's approved list was out. Just standing on the cookie and chip aisle started to make my stomach hurt, and just as I was getting ready to leave, I turned right into Danny. Twice in less than twelve hours was a bit too suspicious for my taste, but once again, he was sweet and very not pushy.

Despite his sincerity, I found it impossible to shake him. If I was the momma duck, he was the baby duckling following me from place to place without so much as a thought to why. I walked him up and down the tampon aisle and tried browsing at different _ointments._ It didn't stop there. When I didn't say goodbye to him at the store, Daniel took that as an invitation to follow me home.

Sasha was all I had on my mind, but Danny kept butting right in. It was a double-edged sword I suppose. I didn't want him around at all, much less give him the impression there was something going on, but when he was there and babbling, Sasha was more like a whisper in the back of my head. I tried killing time by cleaning, kind of hoping for the poor kid to get bored. The idea hit me as I was elbow deep in suds, Danny sitting at the barstool telling me about last season's football stats.

"I just remembered; Sasha left a voicemail for me earlier, something about Sunday practice. Do you mind if I call him? Great, I'll be right back," I threw the yellow gloves behind me into the sink and ran to the front porch, wiggling my cell from my back pocket.

Listening to the rings I went through a list of pros about going in for practice on a day off. If I went in I could see Sasha, get rid of Daniel, see Sasha, subtly probe him for details of his date, and, you know, get in some practice before my upcoming competition. I closed my eyes as I continued to wait for an answer.

"Hello?"

The raspy, obviously just woke up despite it being 11:30, female voice on the other end of the phone was disturbing. I pulled the phone away, and checked to make sure I'd called Sasha's cell. I felt a little sick when I saw his name, and continued to hear the woman that I felt weird hoping was Natasha on the other end. It's not that I didn't realize Sasha had sex, but… I don't know. It was supposed to be one date, and I was sure he would be coming back to me.

"Uh, yeah, I was trying to talk to Sasha. See if he could open the gym. Uh, is he around?"

While I waited, I hit my head against one of the beams holding up the roof over the porch. I should have hung up, but by then I was in too deep.

"Emily?" Well, at least he sounded guilty.

"Yeah, well, I'm feeling much better this morning," I paused as Daniel paced by the window once more. "And I have some catching up to do. I don't need your help or anything, just you babysitting the gym while I get in a workout. I'm not above saying please."

"I'm just going to grab some dinner; I'll be at the gym no later than 1 sharp."

I was nervous cooking with Danny watching within a few minutes. I had to have time to not only digest, but also control the blush that would undoubtedly arise when I saw Sasha. The rice in my stir fry nearly burnt, and the chicken was almost too crispy on the edges despite that I was constantly staring at it. My brain was busy picturing Sasha and Natasha. Well, not exactly the two of them, but Sasha being intimate. Not even Daniel's talking could sidetrack those thoughts. It's not that I hadn't appreciated him before; it's just that I hadn't thought about it for an extended period of time. And as the smell of overcooked rice filled my nostrils, I realized trying to suppress my embarrassment wasn't going to work.

Danny talked through the door as I twisted into my leo and put my hair up three times. The ignoring tactic ended about the same as it had at the store, with Danny following me to gym, only this time he was riding shotgun. We were graced with that stoic, trying to kill you with his gorgeous blue-gray eyes just because he can make you feel like a little kid, look.

"I didn't realize you'd have an audience. I really don't think that you need a distraction this close to the sanctioned event."

"He'll be really quiet; won't you Danny?" I patted Sasha's shoulder as I pushed passed.

The lights began warming up, giving the whole room an eerie glow. My gym bag slid easily across the floor, slowing as it hit the folded mats against the wall. I tossed my warm-ups and shoes on top of the bag, trying to ignore the tension built up around me. Sasha had already taken his stance at the top of the platform, gripping the rail until I was sure his muscles would burst.

"So, when do I get to see you flip and flop and nearly kill yourself?" Daniel perched himself on the floor in between the beam and floor.

"I wasn't aware I was running a day care. Get to work, or get out. Now," Sasha stalked into the office before I could retort.

Twenty minutes later, after I'd gotten in a good stretch, I walked to my starting position of the mat. I lowered my eyes and tried to get out of my head. My ear buds were in, and I was just about to begin when I heard Danny talking. Slightly annoyed, I pulled one headphone out.

"Is he always like that?"

He was halfway turned around. I'd be surprised if he wasn't making eye contact with Sasha. He'd been staring down here for five minutes, and that was the first moment he wasn't looking at me.

"He just wants me to do well. If you can be quiet, I'd really like to play the music through the stereo."

Danny nodded, catching my iPod, and positioning himself near the play button. I nodded and waited for the music. By the time I'd finished my second tumbling pass and was nearing the end of the routine, I slipped doing a simple split leap. The music cut off and was quickly followed by Sasha yelling.

"You, out!" He had one finger pointed in Danny's direction.

I didn't like the look that accompanied Sasha's red face. I pulled Danny quickly towards my bag by his wrist.

"Look," I started rifling through the purple bag, "Here are the keys to my car. Take it, get your car, and just go home. He's right; I really should be concentrating."

I looked between the two blondes as he stared at the keys in his hand. We had approximately thirty seconds before Sasha forcibly removed Danny from the Rock. I gave him a slight push towards the doors. Sasha was waiting by the floor, but I wasn't sure I was ready for what was coming. Now that we were alone, the uncomfortable subject of that morning's phone call was bound to come up, not to mention the little topic of Daniel. I definitely wasn't ready for it.

**A/N: **I actually like this bit. We're about to get into some good stuff.


	13. Chapter 13

"Do you want this?" He finally asked once I had made it inside the white tape.

"Please tell me that is rhetorical." When he didn't answer, I continued. "I came back and have pushed myself harder in the last few weeks than I ever have before. Just because I brought a friend to practice isn't me throwing my future away."

"Back to your starting position, now."

It's really not fair he always gets to end arguments like that, but I had to obey him. It was one of those uniquely Sasha times when he can throw the personal/professional switch without skipping a beat. I slipped on the same leap. I have a tendency to over complicate things. And by things I mean everything. I want things to be harder than they are. That and I want to be better than I am. I try to push myself farther than I'm ready. In that split leap I was trying to get maximum height, causing my feet to not land quick enough. Even though I recognized the problem, Sasha had no qualms about making me do split leaps for at least for fifteen minutes. I bent over after the last one, bracing my shaking thighs.

"Did you hear something I didn't? Keep going. This is an elementary level move. I'll be up in the office for a while; call me when you get this routine, start to finish."

He turned and stalked away. I don't know why I felt like crying. I'm not generally a crier or overly emotional in general, but in that moment I felt like crap. Let's just call it hormones. Sasha was near the stairs when I called his name. He looked back, with a general look of confusion on his face.

I pressed play on the dock and performed what I like to think was one of my most flawless routines ever. If nothing else, I was happier than I'd ever been. When it was over, I was shaking. My tears had turned into rage.

"Where do you get off questioning how much I want this? How dare you question me? Do you know how much I absolutely loathe you right now? I'm trying so hard not to look like even more of a nutcase than I already do." I was even confusing myself.

In my head I had this great exit of walking with my head held high to my gym bag and stomping out the doors. In actuality, I stood there having a stare down with the man who used to make my knees weak but lately just makes my blood boil.

"And another thing," with me, there's always more to rant about, "What was that crap about, with the jumps? You can't punish me every time I do something you don't like."

He began his slow stride back towards my, removing his hands from his pants pockets and running them along the thigh.

"I did that to help you. It's kind of like the twisties, sometimes there are just things you have to do over and over again to tell yourself you can do it." I gave him an incredulous look. "And maybe there was a little bit of punishment in there, and I apologize for that, but, Emily, why are you hanging around that punk?"

I folded my arms and took a deep breath before speaking. I had to prove I was mature even though I never feel very mature when I'm angry. I usually just want to scream about everything that has ever gone wrong in my life and run to bed for a good ten hour sleep. I look down at my callused feet and finally back up at Sasha. I can't read his face.

"Maybe because no one's at my house and I'm a tad bit afraid of being alone, maybe because I was bored, or maybe it was because I knew you were on a date and I needed some attention. And if nothing else, Danny's good at that." I could tell Sasha was about to talk from the way he parted his lips ever so slightly and sighed. I held up one hand to silence him. "I'm trying to respect your wishes right now, Sasha, I really am, but you have to step into my shoes for just one minute. I am an emotional mess of a seventeen year old girl, and if I'd been admiring you from afar, this date would have hurt me, but not like this. I have to keep all of this inside, all the highs, the lows. I can't talk about it with anyone but you, and you see how well our conversations turn out lately. I know, I know. You think I'm overreacting, but I'm not. I'm just finally acting age appropriate."

So much for acting mature. I could have kicked myself by the end of my rant. My eyes were welled up with tears, but none actually came out. An uncomfortably long amount of time passed by. I groaned and flopped down on my back on the floor. I could hear his shoes walking closer to me and the slight creak of the springs under the floor when he lay beside me. Sasha wasn't too far away from me, half an arm's length at most, but it was almost too much to handle.

"I don't think you're overreacting, per say. I just hope you understand that this sort of reaction is the reason for my decision."

"But did you have to sleep with her? I mean, come on." I rolled over and propped my head up on my hand.

"I, well, didn't actually. Turns out Natasha is not into me. She's not really into anyone with a, um, twig and berries, if you catch my drift."

Sasha had just turned to mimic my position when I return to my back. I covered both my mouth with both hands, but the snort still escaped. It was an awful and quite unattractive noise, but it happened nonetheless.

"We got quite drunk," he continued, and I spun back to watch him talk. "She admitted no one knew about her sexual orientation and asked me to keep her secret."

Silence fell over us once again. I closed my eyes, but just like earlier, all I could see was Sasha being intimate. It was quite uncomfortable. I felt like some horny teenager. I guess technically I was.

"Do you think you still like me, at all?" I asked.

His face was clean shaven, which was the first thing I noticed while inspecting his face and awaiting a response. His perfect blue eyes bounced around my face. His jaw would tense and go slack in a matter of seconds.

"I think that's a stupid question. Of course I do, but I don't know what to do about this. We're moving too fast still."

I jumped to my feet, hands on hips. "Who says we're moving too fast? Everything in my life moves fast. I have to move fast because Olympic training begins in less than seven months. I can't even be considered because I haven't been cleared as elite. Doesn't it make sense that this part of my life would move fast to keep up?"

"Well, since you seem to have it all figured out, where do you propose we go from here?" He lay with his hands beneath his head, looking up at me.

I hadn't thought that far. I paced back and forth, fixing and refixing the straps of my leo. By the time I had it figured out he was standing impatiently in front of me.

"A date, we need to have a proper date. And before you argue with me, it's going to be dinner and a movie at your apartment on Friday. You worry about the details of that, and I'll get myself there inconspicuously."

I grinned widely when Sasha begins to smile. I was sure it'd be forever before he smiled because of me again. He looked towards the door and moved in for a hug. I squeezed him tightly, marking his scent to memory.

"It's a date," he whispered in my ear.

When he pulled away, he moved in for a kiss. I leaned back and ducked out of his arms.

"A lady doesn't kiss before the first date."

"Says who?" He asked looking slightly irritated.

"Says me." I winked and moved around him to my starting position on the floor. I still had practice to do.

A/N: Ack! I started rewatching the show today and wouldn't let myself get another minute into it until I wrote and updated this fic. I hope someone out there is still reading it. Please comment.


	14. Chapter 14

Do favors expire? That was the one thing I wondered as I paced back and forth in my room that night. Friday would be the NGO event, and I knew the mood of my date with Sasha would be entirely determined upon how that went for me and for the team. My parents didn't have plans to leave at that point, so I needed an out. I needed an escape plan with someone who wouldn't ask many questions. I really only had one option, but I knew I'd have to come clean about the whole thing.

"Hello?"

"Ava? It's Emily, please, don't hang up." A sigh would have been better than the nothing I got. "Look, I really need a favor, and, honestly, I need you."

It was really a done deal before I even finished. If there was only one thing I would ever know to be true, it was that Ava Hurley hated owing people anything, and she owed me big. I, by some sheer dumb luck and a lot of manipulating, made it so her dad never found out she was taken to the hospital to have her stomach pumped from alcohol poisoning. That was only a few weeks before everything went down with Danny, back when we were still the best of friends. We still would have been if I hadn't dropped off the face of the planet.

"You better start talking," she said in a low voice.

Ava's father was a senator from Delaware or New Hampshire or somewhere in the North East. When her mother passed away, he retired from politics, and they moved to Colorado. Enter my family. Dad convinced Mr. Hurley to join his campaign team, thus throwing Ava and I together for "play dates" and parties. It was a friendship of convenience, but it worked.

"I can't talk about it over the phone. Look, I have a meet in Denver this Friday. I need you to come up and watch, then take me away with you. I'll be out most of Friday night, but be back at your house to spend the night. My parents can't know about the going out part, okay?"

"Meet? So you're in gymnastics again? That's rich." I could practically hear the eye roll in her voice.

"Please, Ava. After I get back to your house Friday night, I will give you all the dirty details." I knew she couldn't resist my offer.

Ava was always the one thing that was mine. She wasn't involved in The Rock, and after her dad stopped working with mine a few years back, she didn't have anything to do with my parents. I could have really used a friend like that, so I determined I would do anything to get her back.

People didn't trust her a lot from looking at her. She had short, jet black hair, and there was a single streak that changed colors ever week. They didn't know that they were clip-ins because the hair was her one connection to her mother, and Ava wouldn't dare break that. Or that most of her ear piercings and the one eyebrow were also fakes because she was afraid of needles.

That week was more than rough. I was giddy about seeing Ava again, not as if I needed any more distractions. I was flawless in nearly everything that was the upside. The downside is that the better I seemed to be doing, the worse the rest of the girls did. Sasha had passed me off to an assistant coach, and while I pretended to be hurt, it really was for the best. I didn't need to have my stomach flipping when he walked by; it was doing enough of that at the thought of being in front of NGO officials for the first time in years. I needed to be consistent. Mostly consistent wouldn't cut it this time. I had to nail it every single time.

Vault was still my shaky point. I had a hop on my landing, and if not that, then a step. Sometimes the step was more than shoulder width apart, and that means the difference between a 3/10th and a 1/10th deduction. The more I thought about it thought, the more freaked out I got. Not only could Friday be the start point of my Olympic career. Every thought sent me into a spiral of panic that ended in a shaky vault landing and an immediate trip to the water cooler.

Come Thursday morning, Payson, Lauren, Kaylie, and I were at the doors of the Rock, hoping for one last tweaking practice just to fix the little things. Sasha backed us outside before we even made it out of the lobby.

"Absolutely not. If you don't have it by now, you won't. Go. This isn't a free ticket to party; this is me saying that you will rest and get ten hours of sleep tonight."

We all stood wide-eyed. The last, first NGO sanctioned even before Olympic trials and he was keeping us out. It wasn't just majorly important for me, but for the other girls. This was the last round of competitions to show that they deserved a chance at the Olympics too. Payson was shaking with anger, but she didn't dare open her mouth. The girls turned away slowly, as did I, but I turned back slightly.

"About Friday," I whispered, "I've got my part covered."

I hoped I was discrete enough. Sasha let the tension out of his brow, and gave a small smile and nod. I knew he was trying not to be too obvious. I nodded back and headed to my car. It was dawn on a Thursday morning, what was I going to do?

"What was that about?" Kaylie raised an eyebrow at me; she was poised, ready to slip into her car, but clearly had stopped to watch Sasha and me.

"I told him I thought I was ready for Friday," not completely a lie.

She eased her grip on the car door and flashed that Kaylie Cruz hundred watt smile. "Of course you are. You'll show the NGO what they've been missing without you. You're going to be good competition."

The rest of my day was spent munching on baby carrots and apple slices, whatever I could carry around as I paced the house. All I managed to do was pack a bag with cute clothes to change into quickly at Ava's house. Mom knew of my plans and was completely supportive for once. As it turned out, she and Dad were going to leave out early Saturday morning for another campaign city tour thing. They decided to take Livie with them since I would be out. I tried not to get too excited that all these pieces were falling into place.

I couldn't even concentrate on whatever Ryan Gosling movie Olivia picked out for us to watch on our relaxation night. My food was tasteless as usual and perfectly up to regulation with the nutritionists' guide. I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to sleep that night, but I must have worried myself into some kind of coma because I was out like a light.

There wasn't much to do the next morning when I woke up. Lauren was doing my hair once we got to Denver. We'd all agreed on some simple make-up, much to Lo's disappointment. None of the girls were allowed to ride with parents. Sasha rented out a bus for the roughly fifty minute drive. And he definitely used that time to his advantage. I never knew a pep talk could last so long. Payson was even bored after the first half hour.

It never occurred to me that Sasha might feel some pressure about this meet too. He did lead the American team to gold at World's. He has a certain amount o f momentum to keep up. That event was a bigger deal than any of us had originally anticipated.

I wish I could recall more about the first hour or so of competition, but I was coasting along. I was doing my best to stay out of my head. Our first rotation was vault, followed immediately by bars. It's like they were trying to kill me. All I know is that by being so freaked out, I managed to stick my landing without realizing until the score came back. I was in the top ten after the first rotation. The entire room was shocked, even I knew that much. I shouldn't have been, but they couldn't deny me the scores I earned. My beam was shaky, but I managed to keep the number ten spot for two rotations.

Kaylie, Lo, and Payson all stayed top four or five. The rest of our girls were scattered around. I cheered when I was supposed to like a good teammate, but my eyes were scanning the crowd and the judges. I knew who the NGO members were. They had an aura about them, the don't-you-dare-do-anything-to-mess-this-up-for-us aura. As I chalked up for beam, my chest started to feel tight. There was one person ahead of me, and as they landed, the tightness got worse. I wasn't normally so terrified of the bars, but everything felt too good to be true.

"Hey, are you okay? Did you get hurt before?" Sasha was leaning over the chalk box.

I shook my head and tightened one of my straps again. "I do think I'm going to be sick though."

"You look like it. Do you need to sit out?" His chin was tight as he asked. Sasha would let me if I really needed to, but he wouldn't be happy about it so I shook my head no.

"The NGO would love that, wouldn't they? I've got to do this."

He patted my shoulder and walked onto the floor. As I waited for the little green flag, I bounced from foot to foot, trying to get some blood pumping. Ava made eye contact from her seat with my parents. I could see the smirk and eyebrow raised from across the small arena. I saluted and stepped up to the low bar.

It all went by so fast. Every time I had a deduction, I knew it. I could feel it with every aching swing of my arms. The landing was cleaner than I could have wished for though, and the smile that broke out of my face relieved so much anxiety I was feeling. I got the quick Sasha hug once I had made it carefully down the steps. I gave a two finger salute to Ava. She almost looked like she was enjoying herself.

I ended up finishing eighth after our final rotation on floor. I almost cried with joy. Even with the three top Rock girls finishing one, three, and five, they seemed to be happier with my scores. Lo was even participating in the group hug. I sent a silent prayer to thank whatever deity had given me the most perfect twenty-four hours ever.

We didn't have to ride back together, and you can bet that every girl took whatever measures they had to get a ride home. A victory speech had the potential to be worse than the pep talk. Ava and I were walking silently to her car when I received a one word text from Sasha, or, rather, a one number text. It just read _6._ That gave me over an hour to shower, change, and get to his apartment once we got to Ava's house.

I tossed my bags in the back seat. We sat in the car for a few seconds before I realized she hadn't put the key in the ignition. Her hand was frozen by the steering wheel. She turned to me slowly.

"You better explain now because I could feel the sexual tension across that gym." I looked at her with wide eyes. "And before you lie, remember who you're talking to, because I think I own you right about now."

**A/N: **So. This is a bit longer than my usual chapters. I really enjoyed it. The juicy date is just over the horizon. I mean that literally too. I'll most likely be finishing it up in the morning and posting tomorrow. Mmm. Sasha. ;)


	15. Chapter 15

"Can you at least drive while I talk?"

We were at least five miles down the road when my phone beeped again. Ava and I had stayed silent up to that point, and it was unnerving to say the least. I took several deep breaths, ignoring my phone despite its second beep and vibration against my thigh.

"I really, really need you to not judge me right now."

Ava looked over, snorted, and looked back at the road. "Honestly, it's like you don't even know me anymore. Thinking you can bullshit me, or that I have any right to judge you for anything." She trailed off, gripping the wheel a little tighter than necessary.

"I have a date tonight, a first date, with my coach."

"Well, hot damn," she threw her head back and laughed a little. "The hot British guy, Sam or Satan or whatever?"

"His name is Sasha, and he makes my knees feel like jello. Ava, I really like him." I said and pulled the visor down to use the mirror.

She sighed quite loudly after a moment. "So you're shagging the coach? Is he some kind of pervert?"

I pulled a piece of my soft brown hair from the braided up do Lo did and began twirling it around my finger. My phone buzzed again, but I turned ignored it. I unzipped my team jacket and adjusted the seat belt to get comfortable.

"We're not shagging. We've only kissed a few times, and he is not a perve! I have pursued him, hell, I've even tried using Danny to make him jealous."

"Now, I know you're insane," Ava ran a hand through her black bob—she must have grow tired of the pixie cut. "Hooking up with an older dude, that's something I would pull, but talking to Daniel again? That's just stupid, Em."

I avoided her disapproving glare and looked out the window. She must have been speeding because we were over halfway to back to Boulder by that point.

"I don't need to stress the discretion of this situation." I glanced over and started again. "And it's not long before I'm eighteen. Av, look, I really do like him; he's one of the good ones, I can tell."

"So, he hasn't been in your knickers yet?"

I rolled my eyes over at her. "Can you stop with the Brit slang? No, he hasn't, and he certainly won't be getting there on the first date. I really need you, are you cool with this?"

She took one small hand from the wheel and rested her chin on it. Ava stroked an invisible goatee for a few seconds then smiled wide. "I'm just so proud of you for doing something I haven't. Don't worry about the discretion thing; it's practically my middle name."

I was thankful she cranked the radio up for the remainder of our drive. The messages were all from Sasha, just checking that I got the first message. Ava and I slipped into an ease with each other, not unlike the one I had with Payson, but there was something freer about our relationship. Even if she judged me, I knew she wouldn't hold it against me.

I took my clothes into her bathroom with me to get changed. I quickly braided my wet hair into a pseudo Lauren Tanner style similar to before. In my opinion, all was going well. Ava certainly had a different opinion.

"What are you wearing?" she questioned from her desk chair.

"A dress?"

She shook her head and approached me with pursed lips. "Em, you look cute."

I looked down at the soft blue and cream dress I'd picked for this evening. It was comfortable and fun. I decided to pair it with some brown Oxfords; they were simply more feasible for me to walk in.

"It's worse than I thought. Are you even wearing a pushup?" she said while very blatantly staring at my chest.

I crossed my arms and looked at my shoes. "I don't understand. You said I looked cute."

"Sweetheart, you do look cute, but… You're going on a date with a man. A cute dress and adorable braid aren't going to cut it. You're batting in the majors. Regardless of if he's getting in your pants or not tonight, you should dress like you want him to think he has a shot."

I flopped down on my back on her soft duvet. The lace skirt flowed out around me. I picked up the hem and rolled it between my fingers.

"I don't have anything else, and I can't exactly go home. That would be way too suspicious. I still think I look good." I was beginning to feel frustrated.

Sasha obviously liked me knowing I was more cutesy than revealing. Although, I could probably count on one hand the number of times he'd seen me not in a leotard. Up to that point, I hadn't been stressing. Within a few minutes, Ava had my stomach churning. What if this made things worse between Sasha and me? What if he started to see me as my age?

"You still a B?" Ava called from in front of her large two door closet.

She was leaning into her drawers, digging around an endless pile of unmatched socks. I watched as she tossed article after article of clothing on the floor in a pile. My jaw hung open at the final choice. I shook my head furiously.

"You're lucky we're the same size. It'll be a little shorter on you, but that's not exactly a bad thing in this situation. And your tiny ass feet will fit in these new pumps I bought. I'm a genius."

Ava held up a long sleeved, red, skin tight dress. I don't have a problem with femininity or exposure, but not on myself. I generally work for comfort. I might have considered a dress like that when I dated Danny—he really did love me in dresses—but not now. I felt even more ridiculous in it than I had looking at it. It was as comfortable as one of my light jersey dresses, but that didn't stop me from fidgeting.

"I really can't wear those," I pointed my foot in the direction of the black peep toes. "He'll kill me. I could twist an ankle."

She made a show out of rolling her eye as she tossed nude lip gloss my way. It was the first time I noticed she'd made an effort to get semi-dressed up as well. I didn't know where she was going while I was out.

"Emily, tonight, he is just another helpless victim to your killer legs. If you can't pretend like he's not your coach, this relationship is doomed." I watched her apply heavy eyeliner flawlessly in seconds. "Now, pull your hair out of that braid and give it a little spray. Guys like hair down, gives them something to hold on to."

Her dad barely noticed we'd left, and he merely said to be back before dawn. Ava informed me she was at my beck and call tonight. I didn't have to set a time to leave, just text and she'd be there in ten minutes. I slipped from her car awkwardly. She spent the car ride to Sasha's apartment complex giving me sex advice just to watch me squirm. I'm no prude, but I just think there are some things you don't really talk about. Ava waved and leaned out the window to tell me, "Avoid a frown, contain his clown."

I walked shakily up the single flight of stairs. It was so easy for Ava and me; I still couldn't believe it. I don't think we ever stopped being friends, just took a little break. I had already knocked on 2H before I even realized it. I tugged my jacket around me. It was a chilly October evening and even though the front of the dress had a high neck, it was nearly backless. It was weird to think that only the underwear I had on was mine. Everything about Ava and my relationship was the way it was.

The door jerked open, pulling me from my own thoughts. We just stared at each other, kind of blankly for a few moments. I finally gave a small smile, and Sasha's eyes went wide. His face still held the blonde stubble I'd seen early this morning when we got on the bus to Denver. It was relaxing to see that Sasha had made some effort to dress up too. He was wearing a light blue button up, dark blue blazer, and khakis. Even though our evening would be spent in his apartment, I would pretend we were a normal couple out and about. Just from the foyer, I could tell his apartment was spacious and simple.

I started to slip out of my jacket, and he was behind me in an instant. He grasped the leather by my shoulders. His fingers grazed my back, and I think he was as surprised as I was by that touch.

"You look, um, uh," when the stuttering began, I knew I owed an apology to Ava, "stunning."

"You look quite handsome yourself." Where did that suaveness come from? I still don't know.

The space smelled delicious to say the least, and I commented on it to Sasha to break us from our awkward stance by the door. He didn't reply, just let his hand slide to the small of my back and guide us directly to the left into the dining room. I tried to walk through the swinging door, but he pushed me towards the nearest chair.

"No one is allowed in the kitchen while I'm in there. My cooking is like an art, thought I only know a handful of dishes, and they're almost all Romanian." Sasha continued as he disappeared behind the door. I watched through the small bar window as he started stirring. "Now, you can't tell Tish or Matt on me; I'm pretty sure what I'm cooking is incredibly unhealthy."

I stood, nearly losing my shoe on my right foot. It was lucky that Sasha missed my little slip while he was rummaging in the fridge. I made my way over to lean on the counter. I tried to peek over at the dishes, but two hands were in my view shooing me away before I could actually see anything. I stuck my tongue out and walked back to my seat. I chanced a quick glance over my shoulder. He was frozen, eyes staring at my back. Caught red-handed he met my gaze and looked back down at the pots. Sasha must have quickly regained his composure from earlier. I, however, lost mine. One glance that the dress was clearly asking for and I was blushing like a mad man.

What were we even going to talk about if not gymnastics? Did we even have the foundation for a relationship outside of physical attraction and a common sport?

Sasha only spent a few more minutes working in the kitchen. We exchanged a few glances and awkward laughs, but not much else. My stomach was upside down, and my head felt light. I wanted this so badly, but what if it turned up empty? I tend to have this pedestal problem. I hold people and my relationships up to a point they'll never reach, and then I pout when things aren't perfect.

"I thought this might be perfect, what with the weather changing and whatnot." He said as he set a large bowl of soup in front of me.

Sasha had already discarded the blazer and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. I admired the tension in his forearm muscles as he cut at a loaf of dinner bread. I sat very still and waited for Sasha to take his seat. I felt very unlike myself. My back was rigid against the chair, ankles crossed, hands clutching the cloth napkin I highly doubted he even owned before this week in my lap.

"Right, I'm sure you want to avoid talking about gymnastics, but I have some news," I nodded, twisting a piece of the napkin tightly around my finger. "Marcus and a few other officials approached me after the competition today. I don't know if you noticed, but you scored a 35.01. They expressed their excitement about your very quick comeback, but they also made their distaste for your inconsistency to care apparent. Either way, you scored one one-hundreth of a point into the elite range. They have no choice but to categorize you as such. You did it."

My grip on the napkin tightened. I made it in one try. I didn't have many to use, so knowing I would be watched as a possible Olympic contender from this day forward was overwhelming to say the least. Sasha's toothy grin brought me back down to the moment a little. I was having one of those flashes of what could be moments; it was terrifying.

"I-," I had no words.

"Yeah, I know." Sasha's eyes were crinkled in the corner.

The smile didn't leave his face as he started in on his stew. A silence fell over us. I felt like I had to say something.

"So," I started, resting my spoon against the side of the bowl. "I'm thinking Sasha Jr. if it's a boy, and Lauren if it's a girl. Or maybe we should just try for one of each."

There was a sputter and cough from his side of the table quickly.

"Right, so joking about children to break the ice on a first date is not the way to go. Duly noted," I flushed.

When I looked up again, Sasha had a small smile. "No, it's fine. I was just caught off guard."

"What'd you do before you came to the Rock?"

My question began a series of pointless Q&A's about small aspects of our lives. Each time our eyes would meet, I mean fully connect, I broke out in a smile. I heard about Cambria and his fishing adventures. There were apparently a few odd jobs here and there that the sports press never caught on about because he went under his real name after the incident with his last gymnastics team. I had far less to contribute to this portion of the conversation, since I have far less time to talk about. He seemed slightly uncomfortable with baby stories of me, probably because they involved my parents and that was a sore topic to say the least.

I had nowhere near cleared my bowl when the next lull in the conversation happened. Sasha filled it by bringing out 'dessert.'

"Now, this is the piece de resistance. I slaved away making this, so I hope you like it," he called as I heard the fridge shut.

"You call making instant chocolate pudding, slaving away?"

In between us on the table sat a large bowl and two spoons. I shook my head, but wasn't about to refuse my first taste of pudding in months. Sasha had to literally pull me away from the table. He grabbed my arm and started to walk me across the hall.

"What other festivities are so important you wouldn't allow me to indulge just a little bit longer?" I looked up, and for the first time that night, I realized I liked the height advantage the heels gave me.

We stopped at the edge of his living room, right where the vinyl turned into beige carpet. The way he stared at my mouth, I was sure he was going to kiss me, but instead he giggled. My heart dropped a little until he brought his thumb up to brush the corner of my mouth.

"Chocolate," he showed me before licking it from his finger.

Are there any words that don't sound better in a British accent? I watched him lick his lips quickly. Teenage hormones be damned, every little move he made was sexy. Sasha walked towards the modest entertainment center, gesturing to the black leather couch. I slipped my pumps near the edge of the couch, since there was no coffee table to hide them under like I normally did at home. Now without shoes, I tucked my feet under me as I sat, maneuvering the dress to make sure it stayed put. Sasha was bent over, messing with the DVD player. It was nice to be able to appreciate his ass in public because, man, it was a good one. He turned around abruptly. I was once again caught, but this time I didn't turn away as I blushed. He chuckled and ran a single hand through his messy blonde hair.

"I hope you don't mind," he began, "I sort of saw your movie choice at the store last week and took a guess at one I thought you might like."

I knew what it was the second the music started on the home screen. Sasha sat beside me and undid a few of his top buttons. He eased out of his own shoes and leaned back. He was the first boy, nay man, to pick up Dirty Dancing. I squealed at 1980s Patrick Swayze. All of sudden, however, the mounting sexual tension in the room was once again present as his weight started to cause me to slide into him. His arm, which had already been resting on the back of the couch from the moment he hit play, naturally found its way to my shoulder.

I had never been on a date with someone so sure of themselves. Then again, I haven't been on a date with anyone that I was sure that was completely out of puberty. I looked over to the right to see his fingers playing with the edge of my hair. The date had been mediocre in my eyes. I mean, it was fun and playful, but it felt like there was something missing. I guess I had been blushing and avoiding the adult part of our date for so long.

I guess I had missed the part where Sasha's mouth was nearly on my ear.

"Stop thinking so loudly. You're going to give yourself wrinkles and end up looking like me," he whispered against my hair.

"Would you like to dance?"

The movie had just hit the first major dancing scene, so I thought why not? Sasha looked confused as hell, but when I stood and offered him my hand he eagerly took it. Most of the floor of his living room was unobstructed as there was little furniture. He led me into a simple waltz. I giggled lightly as I pictured Sasha a fair haired little boy being pushed into ballroom classes by his mother. While his head was turned, I looked up to admire his jaw. It was even better than his eyes at telling his mood or when he wanted to speak but wouldn't.

"You're thinking again," he whispered without looking at me.

"Just about you," I replied.

The silence that followed actually made me feel at ease. He slowed our pace. I was confused when he dropped my right hand, until it wound its way around my back. I felt him clasp his hands against my skin. I mimicked his movements until we were basically hugging with a slight swaying.

"You smell like the sugar cookies my mum used to make on rainy days."

I smiled, silently adding another thing to thank Ava for. I craned my head up to give him a small kiss at the base of his throat. It was probably my most bold gesture of the night. That must have been the go ahead Sasha had been waiting for.

At that moment, really and truly alone, he was looking at me like a real live woman. I didn't feel like an immature girl when his hands tightened on my back right where the top of the dress lay on my skin, and definitely not when he kissed me and my top lip got scratched from his stubble. It was quick, but when he broke apart it wasn't more than a centimeter from my lips.

"I'm sure glad I don't abide by that no kiss on the first date thing," I mumbled with a slight laugh.

I heard the grumble of laughter in his chest as he walked me backward to the couch. I caught sight at the faintest of blonde chest hairs peeking out from the top of his shirt. The way he was trying to guide me down was awkward, what with us still holding on to each other, so I broke apart to lie down on the couch. I propped my torso up on my elbows. Sasha just stared down at me. His eyes raked from my toes up my body to meet my eyes. I didn't like the troubled look in his eyes; it was one I had seen far too often. I put on my best seductress face and hoped for the best. His tongue darted out to wet his lips, and he was there in an instant.

I rolled my back into the corner of the couch to make room for him when it was clear he was trying not to lie completely on top of me. It was probably a strong PG at that point. One of Sasha's hands found the back of my neck; the other he had beside my head to maintain his balance. I tried to touch whatever he would let me. Anywhere near the belt line and he would shift downward out of my reach. I was more than a little defeated when he grabbed my hands as I was trying to unbutton his shirt the rest of the way.

"Come on, Sasha. I'm not going to get pregnant from you taking off your shirt." Before he could speak, I interrupted. "And don't give me some crap about pushing me. I'm clearly making all the decisions here."

I must have struck a nerve because he jerked up, wasting no time in removing his button up. I had just gotten a good grip on his back when I heard the faintest of melodies. My phone was still in my jacket pocket. I rolled out from underneath Sasha so fast I think he fell on the floor. Ava was calling me, I just knew it. He was behind me in a flash. I regretted the shirt decision in that instance. It was hard to concentrate with him looking so devishly handsome leaning shirtless against the door frame.

Crying and music were all I could hear when I answered. It took a few seconds for me to calm her down, but Ava started forming complete sentences.

"I'm locked in a closet at this party. I'm not drinking, I swear, but I think my drink was spiked with something. There's this guy who's been following me around all night. He keeps beating on the door. I'm scared, Em. Any chance you could bring your muscle-y gymnastics man to come help me?"

She quickly blurted out the address and a brief description of how to get to the closet. It's a good thing she called so fast because her words were seriously slurred towards the end.

"I'm going to need you and your bike. Ava's in trouble."

**A/N: **You guys are lucky bitches. I got on a roll trying to write up something for before I leave tomorrow (gone till Sunday) and ended up writing basically three chapters worth. If you don't comment, I don't think I can go on. –insert dramatic sigh here- Love ya. 3


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Sorry, guys. I was in the shower for ages. Lol.

"This is ridiculous," I muttered as Sasha had to help me off his bike.

I literally have no idea how I kept from flashing the world my undies. He and I had to seriously discuss his transportation. Not only is it dangerous, but it's is simply inconvenient.

The house party looked taken straight out of a bad teen movie. There was literally toilet paper hanging from the single tree in the front lawn. I didn't even know people really did that. There were a slew of solo cups on the grass, and inside was no better. Lucky for us, she was somewhere on the first floor. If there's one thing I know is that bedrooms are usually on the top floor. And if there's one thing I know about parties, it's that bedrooms should be avoided at all costs.

Ava's directions lead us to the downstairs office. Or at least, that's what some kid told us was in the general vicinity of her directions when Sasha put on his coach face and made a few threats. Luckily no one was there that knows me. We'd have been far more than dead if that were the case.

It took a few tries, but Sasha finally busts the door open with his shoulder. The guy that met us was far scarier than I'd imagined. He was more than twice Sasha's size, and I just knew this wouldn't end pretty. I called Ava's name and only hear a bit of rustling farther in the room in response.

"Look, we really need to take her friend home. You can either let us, or I'll hit you."

_A few weeks later_

I'm sorry to report that in the coming weeks my parents had me under a microscope. Ava and I were not so lucky this time as to get her stomach pumped without her dad finding out—whatever that jack knocker put in her drink had some seriously adverse effects—, and he chose that very night to turn into a fully fledged parent. And so, he was called, which meant my parents were called. And I very well couldn't explain my scantily clad body with any other excuse than I was at a party. Which in turn got back to Sasha, and that is how I ended up in an undeserved suspension, doing a shit ton of cardio on my off days as punishment. The only good thing to come out of it was my abs were so tight I could land a double layout full in, no problem.

Payson also hadn't talked to me much since she found out I was at a party. I thought you were serious this time, she said. I thought we were on the same page, she said.

Oh, well. I miss her trust already, but there's not much I can do about it. I certainly can't tell her where I really was. I have a feeling Payson would frown upon that slightly more than me being a party. Just slightly.

So, that is where found me on that glorious Saturday night, three weeks after the best and worst date of my life. Only moments after my shower following a late round of sprints did my mom bombard me with orders. It was one of Olivia's friends birthday parties starting in thirty minutes, and it was then my job to drive her and do whatever Eliza's mom needed of me.

"Depending on how tonight goes, we may be able to lift your grounding," she whispered with a pitiful pat on my arm.

I bundled up and grabbed the keys from the table in the foyer. Liv was already in the car bouncing in her seat. There was nothing I could do but pray that night would go by fast, and maybe, just maybe, I'd have the freedom I craved so desperately.

"Sasha will kill you if you hurt yourself on the ice tonight, munchkin," I said after five minutes of silence.

"Maybe I'll just become an Olympic figure skater instead," she retorted quickly and flips on a Top 40 station.

There's no parking at the small skating rink, so I was forced to circle six times much to the dismay of Olivia. She's out before I put the car in park, but I couldn't yell at her because she's at the door by the time I got my purse and the present she'd thrown to the floorboard.

Only two and a half more hours, I thought.

My legs ached with every step, reminding me of Sasha. I absentmindedly offered Mrs. Saveall the present and took a seat. I couldn't think of anything but him. It was so stupid and teenage girl of me, but he plagued my brain. Honestly, just those few moments of solitude we had were well worth the pain in my legs.

I flipped my phone around a few times in the pocket of my winter coat. Mom had forked it over since I would be driving Olivia. So long as I remembered to wipe the texts before I turned it in at the end of the night, I'd be safe. Sometimes you have to risk it to get the biscuit.

_Guess who. _I sent after promising myself I'd remember to erase every single message.

**I don't know.**

_I got my phone back for the night. Stop playing dumb._

**I missed you.**

_I'm at the skating rink with Liv. If all is well, I get ungrounded tonight. ;)_

My lungs burned as I breathed in the freezing air. I pulled the gray hat farther down over my ears. My fingers trembled from a mix of anticipation and cold. The phone was silent for another minute longer, allowing my stomach to flop. Was a wink too forward?

**I'll start planning out reunion. ;)**

The nagging little conscience of mine reminded me of how wrong that all was. I was sitting at a table full of preteen girls' parents, in an ice rink full of said preteen girls, texting my boy thing who's also not a boy at all but my thirty something year old coach. My stomach did another flip, but it's for a much different reason.

_What did you have in mind?_

Seeing that awful, italicized, "_Typing,_" gave me serious anxiety.

**You in that dress again for starters…**

Eliza's mom beckoned me over to help with cake before I could think of a good response. I'd get back to him before long. I just had to remember to delete those messages.


End file.
